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CTC Math Online Review
CTC Math is a very thorough online math program! They offer math lessons for kids that attend school somewhere, and for homeschoolers. Their materials for homeschoolers cover a core curriculum, and could be used as a base program. We were given access to their 12 month Family Plan, which gives us access to all the grade levels, for up to ten students! They are NOT based on Common Core. 🙂 CTC Math offers a wide variety of curriculum options, all broken down into manageable sections. Their instruction begins with kindergarten, goes all the way through elementary school, and includes more intimidating subjects like Algebra, Algebra II,…
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Dynamic Literacy WordBuildOnline Review
Dynamic Literacy has created a great online program to help kids build literacy! We were given access to WordBuildOnline Foundations Level 1, since Super D is in 2nd grade. There are 25 different lessons, or units of study, so it’s designed to last for a school year. This program is great, partially because it automatically adjust to the student’s level and can be used for students in 2nd – 4th grades, or even older, depending on their needs. Once Foundations 1 is complete, Dynamic Literacy offers Foundations Level 2, and Elements 1 and 2. Elements teaches Greek and Latin roots – super helpful! WordBuild is based on morphology,…
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Apologia Exploring Creation Field Trip Journal Review
We love to go on field trips in our family and take every opportunity we can to disappear into nature! I was super excited to get Apologia Educational Ministries’s new release, Exploring Creation Field Trip Journal, in the mail and start putting it to good use! The journal includes 3 different sections: Field Trip Pages, Special Spot pages, and As I See It Pages. There are also explanations on how to use each section, tips for preparing for a field trip, maps, and lots of field trip ideas! I love that this journal has lots of room to write down memories and observations. Apologia is committed to producing quality…
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S is for Smiling Sunrise Review
Vick Wadhwa generously sent me a copy of S is for Smiling Sunrise by Wordsbright to review. Upon my first perusal, the pictures are beautiful. I love the illustrations and the colors that are used within. It has the appearance of a happy photo book. I am appreciative of the effort that he clearly invested to create an ABC book that would appeal to young children. My kids enjoyed the colorful pages! Including a cd with the rhyming song and a downloadable mp3 is a great use of current media options! The thorough teacher guide, also downloadable from the website, offers questions to ask your preschooler, and suggested activities…
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Successful Homeschooling Made Easy Review
Stephanie Walmsley, author of Successful Homeschooling Made Easy, has worked hard to create an online course for homeschooling moms in order to help us navigate these challenging waters! I was given a subscription to her 26 week Successful Homeschooling Made Easy course for the purpose of this review, and I’ve had the opportunity to complete 7 of the lessons, as well as a bonus lesson. I love the design of her course. Stephanie sends a new lesson each week, and encourages moms to find a quiet spot and settle in with their favorite beverage for a little focused time. It’s nice to have an excuse to sit down…
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A Busy Homeschool Mom’s Guide to Daylight Review
Motherhood is busy. There’s no doubt about it. Heidi St. John, in her book A Busy Homeschool Mom’s Guide to Daylight by Real Life Press, extends a lifeline to harried homeschool moms who are trying, every day, to give their kids a solid education that will prepare them well for life outside the nest, and do all the other things that moms do like cleaning, laundry, making dinner, and, let’s not forget, being a wife and a friend. This tidy volume is just the right length. It’s not so brief that it leaves out important aspects of life & homeschooling, but it’s not so long that a busy mom can’t find…
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Free Summer Reading Programs!
School is almost out for the summer and I thought this would be a great time to share this huge list of FREE Summer Reading Programs that Kristie from Saving Dollars and Sense has compiled for us! If you like this, then you might also be interested in this list of Good Report Card Freebies. There are a LOT of great programs that your children can take advantage of to earn FREE books, prizes, and cash! You can print out this list of FREE Summer Reading Programs here. Junie B Jones Reading Club – Sign up and get a FREE starter Kit that includes a copy of Junie B Jones and the…
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Online Homeschool: Schoolhouse Teachers.com Review
I recently joined The Schoolhouse Review Crew and I’m super excited to have opportunities to review and share different options for you to use as you homeschool! We are blessed to have a wide range of curriculum options these days, and it can be overwhelming to try to pick one (or two or three!) that will be right for your family! Through the reviews I post, you will be able see some wonderful curriculum in action! My first review is of an online education site called SchoolhouseTeachers.com. I was generously given a yearly membership! It is an IMPRESSIVE collection of curriculum, ranging in ages from toddler through high…
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Homeschooling Kindergarten: Phonics & Reading
As I shared in an earlier post, we have jumped into Classical Conversations for the general base of our homeschooling curriculum. In the younger years, we also need to teach reading and math. (I love watching kids learn to read – a whole new world opens up to them!) Pre-Reading My favorite, favorite tool for introducing phonics sounds is a dvd called Leapfrog Letter Factory. My kids entertain me because they correct ME when I get the sounds wrong. Can we say mommy is a tad bit tone deaf? My littlest watches the dvd each day (give or take) while my older one works on his reading work. She’s getting…
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Homeschooling: Taking The Plunge With Classical Conversations
Yes, we have joined the growing number of folks who are choosing to homeschool. We chose it for a myriad of reasons, but it started with wanting to protect my tender-hearted redhead. With a little girl down the street coming home from kindergarten with black eyes from the playground, and the administration turning a blind eye to it, I knew my sweet boy would have TARGET written all over him. After researching several different programs (there is a vast number of choices!!), we have landed on several that work well for our family. In this first post, I want to share about Classical Conversations, and how to get started in…
